001Welcome everyone. I'm going to call this meeting to order. Uh declaration of a quorum. We have seven members present. Welcome to this meeting of College Station Independent School District Board of Trustees. We were elected at large to represent the interest of our community and our state in educating our students. Our mission for our students in this district is success each life, each day, each hour. We adhere to all pertinent laws, policies, and procedures in posting agendas and conducting our meetings. The detailed agenda information was made available to us at least three business days in advance, and we have all come to this meeting informed and prepared. We have just completed a workshop session where we heard reports and discussed much of the information needed to make decisions in either this meeting or an upcoming meetings.
002This is a meeting of the seven trustees in a public setting rather than a public meeting. As such, public comment is included on the agenda at a specific time and requires us to listen rather than take action so as to abide by the open meetings act. We are pleased that you have taken time this evening to join us. We are very proud of this school district and we thank you for your interest in and support of our students. And that is going to move us to recognitions. We're going to recognize some of those students. Good evening. I'm Don Newton. I'm the principal, the very proud principal at Rock Prairie Elementary. And I'm going to hand the microphone over to two of our amazing wranglers that are here to tell you a little bit about themselves
003in our school. >> Good evening. My name is Matthew Pomos and I'm in third grade. I am a third grade student at Rock Prairie Elementary. I've been at Rock Prairie since kindergarten and I really love my school. I am in the GT program and some of my favorite things to do are drawing and writing. I especially love making comics because I get to use both of those hobbies at the same time. I also really enjoy working in all the awesome projects we do in Miss Tolen's class, GT class. I want to say a big thank you to our custodians, Mr. CJ, Miss Alicia, Miss Carmen, Miss Daisy, and Miss Terra. [snorts] They work very hard to every day to keep our school shiny and beautiful, and they always greet students with a smile. They really
004care about everyone at Rock Prairie. Some of my favorite memories at Rock Perry are playing football at recess, the glow run, my GT project, and making lifelong friends, especially my best friend Aaron. Thank you for letting me share a little bit about myself and for letting me be a proud a proud prairie regular. [applause] Good evening. My name is Emily Johnson and I am a proud fourth grader at Rock Prairie Elementary. I have been at Rock Prairie. I have been a Rock Prairie Wrangler since kindergarten. So, our school has always been a really special place to me. At Rock Prairie, I love being a part of our student council program. This year, I am also excited to represent Rock Prairie Elementary in the UIO Ready Riding Competition. Some of my favorite memories at Rock Prairie
005are field day and all the times Dennis Lee and Nana Pudding come to visit us. It is so much fun. Every day in the morning announcements, we are reminded to make good choices, be kind, and try to make someone else smile today. Thank you, Rock Prairie, for always making me smile every day. [applause] >> Hello, I'm Donna Bington. I'm the proud principal at Greens Prairie Elementary, home of the Mustangs. And so I have two of our fourth grade students. This is Christian Dunn. You may have recognized him. He was our Santa at the musical when you came. They came to visit our school. And uh we they get gave a practice run. So uh Christian uh is a wonderful um actor and has a stage presence and really stole the show as Santa. and both
006of our students have been uh at Greens Prairie since kindergarten. And this is Parker Rodriguez. Uh she's also a fourth grader. She mentors our prek students twice a week and uh serves our campus. She also helps me when we have uh dance moves, dance in the morning for morning assembly like turkey tango. She always volunteers to help. I don't know if that's because you take pity on me or she just wants to show it how it really is done the right way, but she always helps me. We do that. time. I appreciate that. But I'm going to let them tell you a little bit about themselves. >> Hi, my name is Christian. A few things about myself is I really like to play baseball. Um, I like fishing and hunting. Uh, I'm almost as tall
007as my mom. [laughter] Uh, >> and your favorite subject? >> My favorite subject in school is science. >> And what you like about green? And what I like about Greens Prairie is all the nice staff and students in the class. [applause] Hi, I'm Parker Rodriguez. I'm in fourth grade. My favorite subject is Texas history. I like being a Mustang because I am part of a big school family. [applause] United States. >> Please stand for the United States pledge. >> Second. >> Hi, my name is Christian. I'll be leading you the United States pledge. Salute pledge. I pledge [snorts and clears throat] allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Please stay standing for the
008Texas pledge. Honor the Texas Pledge. I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas. One state under God, one and indivisible. >> And now for the moment of silence, you may begin. [snorts] Thank you. At the end is thank you. You may now be seated. >> Thank you guys. [applause] >> [applause] >> At this time, I would like to invite um our amazing fourth grade team at Rock Prairie Elementary to come up for a little big shout out. Thank you. [cheering] [applause] As you can tell, we have a very organized and together team. So, they planned their outfits and we are we have stamped ourselves proudly with Rock Prairie here. So, um we have got Miss Theresa Alenball here, Miss Anel Angel Brussler, Miss Erica Mandel, I'm so sorry, Miss Melanie Matouch, and Miss Lauren Dell here. combined
009they make up 44 years of experience in College Station ISD. And so that is a huge testament to these to their dedication to the commitment that they bring every single day, but also the way that they walk our vision and our mission every single day and every conversation that they have. I wish so badly that everybody could be here and sit in their PLC's and listen to the conversations. They laugh because yes, sometimes we have a little laughter and fun, but it's always tied right back to the experiences that they create every day for our kiddos. And so that goes into the lessons that they plan, the way that they engage them in the content, and the ways that they create experiences for our kiddos to engage with each other, too. And so although I
010could bring so many of our staff members up here, I wanted to take the time to really thank them for not only everything that they do for Rock Prairie, for the way that they support each other, for the way that they support our admin team and even other teams throughout the campus. And so thank you guys so much for being a huge part of all we do at Rock Prairie. So thank you. Thank you. [applause] Thank you very much. Donna go. [laughter] >> Oh, thank you. [clears throat] [laughter] >> All right. Well, I would like to introduce our amazing uh teachers and we have one that's uh coming in virtually. She is at Disney right now, Tori Dean. And so I thought, okay, Disney, come here. You know, I don't know. But so Tori Dean,
011I would like to recognize Tori Dean who is our GT specialist. Uh Amanda Simmons who is our uh counselor. Um Jessica McMurray who is our fourth grade teacher. And Mrs. Martha Jimenez, who is our cafeteria manager. And all of these ladies virtually here wear many, many hats. Uh these are our folks that are our go-to people, right? So Amanda uh is our counselor. She's our MTSS coordinator. She's our behavior specialist. She she does it all. She prioritizes meeting with kids, teaching classes, and doing all the things. If something needs to be done, I don't even have to really ask her. She just says, "Hey, I'll do that." Or, "I can I do this?" thought, well, yeah, you can. So, but things get done and what an honor it is to uh lead alongside her, leading
012our campus and keeping our focus on kids. And so, I appreciate you very much. I'm going to move over to Jessica real quick. Jessica has a heart for kids. She always has great ideas. And not only that, she takes those ideas and go, "Okay, how can we make that happen?" to hammock gardens, gazeos, all the things. She is an awesome teacher. Her kids love learning because of her dedication and her passion for what she does. She has a heart for service. Anything that needs to be done as well, she leads and so always serves our campus and with the best intentions, the best heart uh and that can do attitude. So I very much appreciate her. [snorts] Tori Dean is our GT specialist. Again, a person who serves along aside these wonderful leaders and just
013uh reminds us that we can enrich uh the lives of our students the way we teach and what we provide for them and uh just helps us navigate that uh so that we are teaching um our students the best that we can being the best that we can be but also uh in an engaging and enriching way serving all of our students. Um, so I appreciate them. One thing I'm going to tell you is a highlight. Um, I told you they were our mover shakers. They are innovative idealist and they make that happen. So Jessica has written 20 grants, has received 20 grants at $20,000 total. That's amazing, right? Uhhuh. Amanda, she has been a third grade teacher, a fourth grade teacher, and now a counselor at our campus. But she has written 10 grants
014totaling $12,000. and Tori Dean has written is that about right 13 grants um and she's those 13 grants for $25,700. So total these ladies have um had great ideas and have received over $58,000 just at our campus and that's not including the campuses they have served before in College Station ISD. So they are not only leaders at our campus but leaders in College Station setting a great example for what can be in public education due to these teachers working hard each and every day. So amazing. Thank you. [applause] Got one more. Okay. Now Martha come over here. Martha and I have worked along I call her Miss Martha but Martha and I have been working alongside each other for a very long time. But Martha's along with our custodian uh are there at the crack
015of dawn, right? When the sun rises, they're there. Martha is our cafeteria manager and serves with a smile breakfast and lunch and all the things. So, she uh makes sure that her staff is running efficiently. She steps in when she's short staffed, which happens quite frequently. She knows every kid's name. She makes sure that everything's ordered, everything's running smoothly and all that and like time scheduled three minutes in between classes. So, we cannot do it without her. She welcomes our parents. She makes sure the cafeteria is running smoothly and is a great place and a positive place for our students and our staff. And I just appreciate her so much with a smile and a can do. I can do this. let me and just uh serves quietly uh uh helping her staff, pitching in,
016serving, doing the cashier, washing dishes. Sometimes I have to go back there and go, "Where is she?" And she's around the corner washing dishes or doing whatever she needs to do. But it's a service with a smile. And I appreciate you so very much. So, thank you. [applause] Well done. All right, President Eigy, members of the board, tonight we're proud to recognize students from our high school FFA chapters for an outstanding performance at the state leadership development events contest. test in Huntsville last semester. Leadership development events or LDEs are competitive events offered through FFA that help students develop real world leadership, communication, and career readiness skills. Through LDEs, students participate uh through public speaking, interviewing, critical thinking, teamwork, and decision-making by applying what they learn in a education courses to real life scenarios. These events
017are designed to build confidence, professionalism, and leadership abilities that prepare students for future careers both within and beyond their agricultural education. And we've had the distinct pleasure of hearing them practice uh what they take to these state competitions here at central office. and Sheridan uh Kevin I don't know how we can make this like a public thing so they can see how impressive these kids are but um it is it is some of the most impressive professionalism and public speaking and uh researchbased datadriven um um experience that that I've seen from a student. So it's it's incredible. These students qualify for state by finishing se first or second in one of the state's 66 district competitions and first or second in one of 12 area competitions. These students represented College Station ISD with excellence, preparation,
018and professionalism on the statewide stage. And I know we have uh a few standing in the back confirmed that we're able to be here tonight. And our first that we're going to recognize is our state semi-finalist in Greenhand Creed, Kenna Black. [applause] Then we had several students who competed in the green hand quiz who also finished as state semi-finalist. Uh Claire Kishnik and Brinley Holt. You guys make it. Oh, there they are. Yep. [applause] We have another state semi-finalist from Console. He was a state semi-finalist in the senior creed. That's Tanner Howard. Tanner. [applause] And then from Consol's FFA broadcasting team, uh, Ella Wright. [applause] That's awesome. >> [applause] [clears throat] >> If I could tag on before she leaves, Miss Jessica McMurray was my daughter's kindergarten teacher when we first got here, and now
019she's about to graduate high school. So, thank you for that, Miss McMurray. Yeah. >> And before we move on, I do want to point out to everyone who's here tonight that the artwork in the back of the room is provided by Greens Prairie and Rock Prairie Elementary students. So, be sure you take a look at that. Um, it's always awesome to see what our students do. All right, Miss Eggy, members of the board, and our guests here tonight and watching online. January is schoolboard recognition month, a time when school districts across Texas pause to say thank you to the dedicated men and women who serve on our local school boards. Schoolboard members are volunteers who devote countless hours to setting the vision for our district, making complex decisions, and ensuring our schools serve every student
020well. Their work often happens behind the scenes, but its impact is felt every day in our classrooms, our campuses, and throughout our community. And so tonight, we want to recognize and thank our trustees for their commitment to public education and to our district here in College Station ISD. Their service reflects a deep belief in our schools, our students, and our community's future. And tonight, you've probably seen around the boardroom, we have several amazing posters that were created by our early education kiddos and some of our art classrooms around the district. And at each of your seats, board members, you have a nice branded portfolio um to recognize your contributions to our district. Um, but if if y'all in the audience will please join us in showing our appreciation for our trustees and for all members
021of our school board for their leadership and their service. [applause] All right, thank you guys. Um, that is going to move us to item D1, which is our board reports. Um, what reports do we have tonight? I'll start. Um, budget committee met and um, Miss [clears throat] Wilson did a great job of g tons of data. We reviewed enrollment data and allocation. Um, we did some comparisons of us to peer districts. We reviewed how our money is allocated. Um, she went over current staffing models. Um, I'll say with this committee, it's comprised of staff, um, some board members, community members, but we also have two, um, former superintendent from some districts, not ours, and they bring a lot of information, wealth of just it, it's been really really um, really fun to work with them.
022Um, they bring some great ideas and so I'm really looking forward to seeing um, what this committee is going to bring, the recommendations eventually um, after we meet again. Um, so that was a that was it was a really informational meeting. Um, I'll keep going because I'm on several things unless Do you want to do Head Start? Um, Head Start met. Um, they told us they've assessed over 400 children. Um, they're really excited. They met with the architects to see how we're going to reconfigure this building potentially so that they can serve more families and children. Um, April 1st is their big application event. Um, the budget was approved. Um, they do an amazing job with the budget because they are working with flat funding again for two years in a row. um and they're
023really creative with their budgeting. Um one of the neat things about that committee is they have a lot of parents on it and it's really great to see these parents come in and visit with each other and collaborate and share ideas and um one of the things that's just really um Miss Shelley and her staff, these parents stay after the meetings and really just talk and visit and um it's just really rewarding to see and also to hear about their kids' experiences and that those programs. So um those are that and I'll let someone else do community advisory. I wasn't prepared to do community advisory, but I will. Um, it's been um really great because um I have really appreciated how um Mr. Dunen and um Miss Ward have just structured that whole time so
024that we can um hear from the community some of the strengths that they see in our district and maybe some areas we can grow on. And so the last meeting that we had, we kind of focused in on an area um that we might want to see um just how we can come [clears throat] up with some solutions to. So I don't know that there's a whole lot to report out other than that. I know that process is going to be ongoing and I'm going to be interested to see what um that committee brings to the board later this spring. So I appreciate everyone who serves on that. >> I will report on education foundation, but before that I'm going to mention the Head Start policy. uh Shelley Rice and her team like just ooze
025for the community like you can just see it in those meetings and I mean to think Shelley held a kiddo the entire meeting. So um just kudos to all those women who are really uh out there and trying to make our community just a better place and get our kids um a better future. Uh Education Foundation exciting um 50 Men Who Can Cook is on February 6th uh 6:30 to 9:30. I hope you're coming with a hunger cuz you get full quick. Um, also my husband [clears throat] might be cooking, so go try his food. Um, also you can get tickets and if you can't make it, you can uh buy a raffle ticket uh with a chance to win some jewelry from David Gardner's. Um, also a private dinner at the Republic. Um, so
026that suite in the Republic is really great. Um, you can win it for 16 people. Um, [snorts] all of that can be purchased at 50menhwhecook.org. And then our scholarship application is up and running. I know we've had about 7 to 10 so far apply. Um, but it is open to CSISD seniors till March 1st. That's all I have. DIC is very easy because we basically just got a presentation on um the feedback from the c the calendar survey and I believe Mr. Man will be showing that to us shortly with the the with the results. Um and it was was one of our shorter meetings. So um you want to do intergovernmental? >> Yeah. Mrs. McAdams and I and Dr. Hark Rider were all at the intergovernmental committee today and it was essentially a presentation
027on the baseball facilities in Brian College Station with an eye towards some new fields that are being proposed there behind Costco in lie of the data center. Many people seemed excited to hear. So Dr. Hawk Rider talked about our new baseball and softball facilities from the Bonds. The Brian ISD athletic director did the same and then we had several other presentations. It it seemed to be mostly an informational session on kind of the state of baseball fields in Brian College Station without a lot of other really truly just anformational session. So it was interesting. Do you have one? I have one more I want to add because I want to add um I went to our region six grassroots meeting. I had to miss the budget committee meeting. It was the same night and I
028know um some other of you are interested in it. that grassroots meetings are every two years and they are per for our regions and it's where we start having the conversation as schoolboard members um in the region to discuss our legislative advocacy agenda and what's important to us. We had the the um our legislative priorities there, you know, to discuss they and and for many other districts with um throughout our region. And so we talked about those. I don't know. Um I won't go into all those details and we'll probably have our own discussions, but just so everybody knows there it was in Montgomery. There's some more limitations on this process this year that the the uh state has put on us. You can't have it at a TASBY office anymore. We don't get any
029credit for that for going to that if but I if you still believe it's important, I know many of you do, you know, there is still an opportunity to get involved with that process if you'd like to. So, let me know. As we know, as we talk about here in here often, so much of what affects us and what we do is really um coming out of Austin. And that process is starting again. >> Oh, and you can get a red scarf. That's what you get if you go. [snorts] >> Okay. Is that all of our board reports? Yes. Okay. Dr. Hog Rider. >> Yes, ma'am. This is the time of the year where myself and members of my staff become part-time weather forecasters. So, if you're not aware, uh we have a winter storm
030that unfortunately keeps getting closer and closer to College Station. And so, uh we're keeping a watchful eye on that. It's a very busy time with extracurricular activities. We have both cheer teams are supposed to go up to Fort Worth for national cheer competition. They're predicting an historic storm with north of eight inches of ice and snow. So, uh, it's not looking great to try to make it up there. We've got teams traveling around here as well. We have moved all middle school basketball games to Wednesday night and then varsity soccer and varsity basketball games will play Thursday to avoid any conflicts with the weather and we've got a few other teams traveling. So, we'll be in communication, coaches will be in communicating with players and also parents to make you aware and keep you updated.
031Uh, we'll be making some decisions here in the next 36 hours. uh trustee tour. Next set of tours is January 30th. We'll go to South Null and Oakwood. So excited to showcase those two campuses and see what Roco and Miss Laura have to show. So we know we got a lot of things to show up for us. February 2nd is our UIL realignment that is done every two years. And what's released on that day is our new districts for all of our sports for 2006 2007 school year and 2007208. We will still be uh both high schools will be at the 5A division. We're a little bit nervous because the uh 6A number dropped about 75 students which gets closer to where we are. So I'm concerned in two years if that number drops again
032it's going to be uh a major change for College Station ISD. And then February 13th will be the end of the fourth six weeks. All right. Thank you. We're going to move on to item E which is hearing of citizens. During this time, we will hear from citizens who registered to speak prior to the meeting in accordance with board operating procedures. The Open Meetings Act prevents us from responding to speakers regarding items not on the agenda. Comments related to items on the agenda may be discussed during deliberations on that specific agenda item. Public comments are limited to three minutes per person. Those needing an interpreter may have up to six minutes. Each person has one opportunity at the microphone regardless of minutes used. Unused minutes may not be acred by another speaker. The executive assistant
033will time the comments and alert the president when time has expired. The board asks that those addressing the board refrain from derogatory comments. Um, tonight we have speaker uh, Miss Moulder, Allison Moulder. >> Let's see. Do my best. All right. Good evening and thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. I have three children, one of whom is currently school-aged. I have a deep desire that my younger children along with the other children in our community are able to benefit from the compassion, diligence, and expertise that my eldest child has experienced from his CSISD teachers. It is with that in mind that I express my concern regarding the recent teacher turnover rates published by TEA. Our district's turnover rate grew to 19.4%, 4% an increase of almost two percentage points from the previous year as
034opposed to some surrounding districts which showed an approximately 2% decrease in turnover. For comparison, the state average had a slight improvement from 19.1% to 18.8%. Though central office may measure retention using different methodology and has noted that we are making improvements in this measure which is great, we cannot ignore the trends shown in TEA data. Another area of concern relates to staff investments. The district spends approximately 20% more than the state average on central office salaries while our teachers make approximately 10% below average. And I wish everyone could make above average in this room because all of you have such valuable uh roles. Um despite this difference, our teachers manage larger and larger class sizes, increase paperwork, and reduce time for collaboration. I also must speak up for our valuable pair of professionals who do
035not even make a livable wage. Central office roles are of course vital to the district's success, but our amazing teachers, support staff, and campus administrators serve the core function of a school district. If we want improved outcomes for our students, we must prioritize investment and support for those roles. And that doesn't have to be strictly increases in salary. The district can support teachers by providing a substitute for an hour or two a week per grade level so that the teachers can plan and complete paperwork by mobilizing community volunteers to take over lunch duty for teachers or through other creative solutions. Burnout is a primary reason for teaching for teachers leaving the field. As a licensed clinical social worker, I know that employment stressors teachers experience contribute to mental health issues like depression and anxiety, as
036well as acute and chronic physical health concerns like increased blood pressure and headaches. Our teachers deserve better. Neither our board, central office or community have full control over the public education landscape or beholding to decisions made in Austin. However, we must take accountability for what we can control and correctly align our priorities. Our community clearly cares about this issue and needs transparent communication and a solid action plan to help keep our excellent teachers in College Station. Thank y'all very much. >> Thank you. >> All right, the next thing on our agenda is the consent agenda. That's going to be items G and items J1 to J1. [clears throat] >> Motion to approve as presented. >> Second. >> I have a motion by Dr. Payne and a second by Mr. Martindale. Any comments? All in favor,
037please say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? All right, that motion passes 7 to zero. Next up, we're going to have um item H1 and that's going to be Mr. Man. >> All right. Good evening everybody. President Egy, Dr. Hark Rider, board of trustees. It is my pleasure to come to you this evening to talk with you about the 2627 school calendar. And we're just going to jump right in. Maybe something is not connecting here. Austin, there we go. There we go. All right. So you can see up on the screen um we directly emailed the day after uh the board meeting in um last month in December to all campuses and you can see the number in parentheses that that encompasses. Whenever Austin sends the email out, he receives a report to the number
038of email addresses it's sent to and then to all guardians um as well. And so I share this to say that we know that we have 21,724 confirmed recipients of an email. now. Don't know whether or not they opened it or not, but they have it. Um I also post to Schooly um all of our campus news feeds uh primarily to gather student voice as much as possible. Um but I know a lot of parents um jumped in on that because as I was watching the data come in, the parents were voting pretty quickly um before Austin could even get the email sent out. Um and then of course our staff have the option of getting it from their emails or um from the Schooly feed. And then Austin also shared it out a couple
039of different ways through our communication outlets and then a couple of our um local news media outlets picked it up as well. And so we had 3171 total folks began a survey and 2764 which is an 87% completion rate um complete the four questions on the survey. So let's dig into those stats a little bit. If you do the straight math and add it here, you're going to see that we have more roles than what we have participants. And that's because we traditionally have allowed our people to multi select their roles so that they could share their voice in whichever um role that they would like to. And so um you can see on the left the 3326 total role selections. And whenever I broke it down, I could see that there's 260 unique um
040individuals that picked more than one role for the purposes of the survey. [clears throat] And one of the pieces that was new this year with using thought exchange with the survey piece was it actually showed us how long people spent engaging with the survey and I found it very interesting and so I shared this with the EIC last week and I wanted to bring it forward here um because it's four questions and so you can see we had 184 folks answer them in less than 5 seconds. I mean they just went through they knew what they wanted and there they go and then you can see the folks that that took a little bit longer. Um, and I can confidently say that we did have one student in College Station ISD that must have left
041it open on their browser for 14 days and seven hours because they did finally vote though. They voted for the no fall break version of the calendar. Interestingly enough, they needed to really think about it, right? Um, but of the folks that took a minute or less, which is the overwhelming majority of folks, you again, it's four questions. It doesn't take very long. um you can see the breakdown of the roles of the folks that um were able to get in there within that first uh minute of completing the survey and get it taken care of. And then I know there was a question um brought up about the timing and do we feel like that folks um are going to be able to have the time to respond and see the emails? Is that
042a good time of year? And what this shows us is within the first 3 days almost 90% of the participants that opened the email completed the survey. Um, and then there were 10% of the folks that trickled in over the course of of the winter break. Um, and I can also say that there were five folks that completed it on Christmas day. So maybe that's the day that they got caught up on their email. Um, but I can definitely break it down and see the process um, of getting the votes completed. And you can see on this graph here of the folks um, within that first 90% of of how they broke it down, right? The date completed or within the first three days. So the the four questions that were asked, right? The first
043one is the we talked about this the describing your role and again it was self- select and 105 folks um chose not to give a response to that. [snorts] And then uh people were able to respond to grade level or if they were a community member that they didn't identify with a specific grade level, they had that option as well. And 127 folks chose not to respond to that. And then this is the big question, right? Which calendar preference do you choose? and 407 folks um did not make a selection for this question. 73% of the people did pick the fall break version of the calendar. And then there was the opportunity as we've always had is the open comments where you can tell us anything you would like for us as a DEIC to
044consider as it relates to the calendars. And so just under 24% of our respondents added some sort of a comment into the comment box. And so these next couple of slides are summaries of what we see. Um and so you can see here, you know, as it says there was a diverse range of opinions regarding the calendar. Um and the hot topic was fall break and there was discussion around that and we'll get into more of that here in a moment. Um there's a lot of appreciation for some sort of a break um because of the mental health piece that comes along with that and time to reconnect with family. Um but there is some comments that talked about the challenges that it puts in for working families and parents and child care and disruption
045of student learning. Um, and then there are folks that would like to see it be longer, make sure that we're aligning with neighbor districts. Um, but then we also have those that we don't want any kind of a fall break because we want a longer summer. So, as I often tell DEIC, you can't make everybody happy. We got to figure out what the best option is to move forward. And the summary statement here says it's a balanced approach. And so, you see the five themes that came out of the summary. And so fall break um it it was mentioned the most out of all of them and that's why it's ranked number one followed by teacher work days um and the conversation in the comments between um teaching staff and non-eing staff is where's the
046balance there um because there is there is the need for the work but there's also the child care challenges which is what comes in at number three. Um and then mental health um there's no disagreement amongst any of the comments about the need for mental health. Um the comments really themed around the need for the balance, right? And to be able to make it work for everybody because we've got a lot of diverse needs across the district. And then of course the the common theme of calendar alignment um for us to be sure to align with Texas A&M um and neighboring districts if at all possible. And so I dug specifically into the fall break length comments because that was a topic of conversation over the course of the fall as we were gathering um
047survey responses this September. And so I went through all 745 comments and did specific word searches um for a full week week just individual try to break it down and pull out the ones that mentioned any component of that and you can see that breakdown here. Um so any comments u between teachers, parents and students were the only categories or the only roles that I found where there was any comments and one of them was dualcoded. Um and so that was a teacher and a parent and then you can see out of the total number of comments there. And so I just I pull this out because we spent a lot of time in DEIC talking about to have a full week in October or to not have a full week in October. And so
048this shows that we had 26 unique comments in an open comment section uh for people to bring up that topic out of the 745 total comments. And so with that DEIC's recommendation, um just a quick reminder of the process, um we begin this in September. Um and that's really with me introducing the process to them, but sending out a survey to the staff and to the families. Um asking them kind of just in time survey questions and getting that iterative feedback process started. And we repeat that through October and November. And then whenever we come back in December, um this is where DEIC really looks at draft calendars and we get them prepped in to then send them out for the stakeholder feedback process which we've just completed. And then in January, um we process
049that data and conversations. And then here we are with you guys tonight. And so the DEIC does this is a voting action for them. and only teachers, community members, business members, and parent members of the DEIC are eligible to vote on the motion. And so at the January meeting, there were 15 of those specific members that were present. And you can see that all 15 of them uh voted for the fall break version calendar to be brought forth to the board tonight. So the details of that calendar, so you can see here, um I broke it down by the numbers. There's uh 170 instructional days, 78 in the fall, 92 in the spring. We've often or well we've always had a discrepancy between the fall and the spring um because we have always ended the
050fall semester before winter break. We um in my 21 years in the district have never come back after the winter break and took fall semester exams. Um and so that's a big reason for the the difference between the two semesters. Um you can see the total minutes 76, uh 210 and that gives us a cushion of minutes, just straight minutes of 3.73 days. Um but I want to draw your attention to May. Um this is a new piece this year where we have uh two designated teacher work days that can um be bad weather makeup days if necessary. And so really we have those three days plus two more. um if for some reason we do have big bad weather events or we do have infrastructure problems that causes things to have to be closed
051down without having to make things up um as much as possible. Uh we are as a district on 187 teacher contract days. Eight of those days are designated as work days. Nine of those days are professional learning days. And so with those, you see the 25 total teacher holidays that are throughout the the school year when you count up all the lime green colors and the 31 student holidays that are throughout the school year. Texas A&M did release their calendars recently. And so whenever um I was made aware of that, I did adjust what we had down for our week of spring break to the following week to be in alignment with what Texas A&M had. and and&m did not have a fall break listed on their system calendar. And speaking of&M, we know that
052we receive a lot of comment and feedback asking that we work really hard to be aligned with their calendar. And so I wanted to illustrate um that we do take in very much into consideration's calendar. And so if you look on the left, um these items that are in this maroon color here, um these are not applicable to us as a district. And so there's nothing here for us to align. And then the ones that are in yellow, these are in alignment with&m being out and us not having class. And then if you look on the CSISD calendar side, what's in green? A&M is not in session. And so this doesn't apply um for these items that are in the green piece. There might be some smaller classes in session, but the general session is
053not in. Um and then you can see here um we do have some dates that are not in alignment. So if we look at September 25th, this is a teacher workday. This year we had this workday um coupled with um the Labor Day holiday that's in September. And so whenever we as DEIC um reviewed the survey from staff, the staff came back and said they'd like to see that workday added on September 25th. October 9th is um our traditionally our parent conference day for elementary and a PD day for secondary. And [snorts] then the two fall break days. And then if you come down here to February 12th and 15th and it's up here, it's a teacher work day and then it's a PD day. And so um it's a longer break um for our
054students and our staff have a chance to to do some work within the building without kids there. As a part of our process with DEIC, we do ask them to give this give us a list of what you want us to try to build into calendars. Um and this comes in from conversations that they have with their staffs on their campus. And so you can see that we um took the list that they had and we tried to incorporate as much of all of that information into the calendar as we can. Um so we truly are taking the voice of the folks on the committee and their job is to gather that voice from their campuses. So this is an action item for the board of trustees tonight um to accept the recommendation of DEIC
055or not. And so with that I will turn it back over to you President Eggy and any questions or comments. Thank you, Mr. Man. I appreciate that and all the work that you guys do to put this together. >> You're welcome. >> Do we have any questions? >> Mr. Man, just when everyone was voting, uh, obviously heavy preference to have the fall break&M's calendar was not out yet, right? So, nobody knew that there wasn't going to be one. >> Yes, sir. >> Yeah. >> I think my only question is about is it you've been here a long time. Is it standard for us to have nine days of teacher development before the school year starts? Is that pretty typical? >> Uh, it varies from year to year. And so that's something that we've had an
056iterative piece over time. So standard, some years we've had eight or nine, some years we've had four or five. Okay. >> It just kind of depends on what's been adopted over the years. Part of the factor that's come in too is there used to be that law in place before District of Innovation where you couldn't start before the fourth Monday in August and then whenever that shifted then that brought back into the ability to have more days in August to get ready for the year. >> To that point, is this a change for us to have that the 17th and 18th of August be a work day? How is that how does that compare to this year? I'm not sure. >> Uh we've we had work days this year. Um, one of the differences from
057for this year and for this proposed calendar that uh the last I I forget exactly which year it started, but I want to say it was in the late 2010s where we started incorporating comp days. Um, and so last year and this year we did not incorporate the comp days into it. And we've leaned that into having very specific work days. And a big reason for the comp day piece um is we have a lot of staff that are not um contracted staff that are not guaranteed to work on those days. And so that's something that whenever um we had those comp days, we had to be very mindful of how are we taking care of those folks as well. And we have a lot of feedback saying we would like more work days built
058in the calendar. And so the last this year and this calendar here are the first times that I can see in calendars other than in August where we have specifically called out these are work days. These are designed for teachers to have to get things done where in the past they were designated as PD days and they may have been turned into a workday. Um but we're trying to be very purposeful in designating very specifically. Um, and there's the question that will come up and um, this is one of the things that I want to make sure that I communicate effectively with staff next year is in order for us to receive the PD waiver, which is this cushion of days um, that we that we work on here, right? Whenever we look at the
059minutes, sorry, right here. Okay. Whenever we want to look at any kind of a of extra work, we have to have designated professional learning days after August PD and before the end of May before the last day of classes or we cannot claim any of those days as a PD waiver which the PD waiver what that does is allows us to provide instructional development and count in lie of instruction with students in the classroom. And so it gives us flexibility as a district and that was part of the district of innovation process whenever the state came out with that. And so I know I get a lot of questions about why do we have to have so many days built in through the year. So I wanted to be clear about that. >> Indeed. I
060see you shared I think it was a student said we should hold school from 10 to 2. I didn't see that on here. >> Yeah, I didn't put the >> might have been a teacher that listed that but that'd be a lot of minutes. Yeah, there's there's a lot of fun comments that have nothing really to do with calendar, but they like to tell me stuff. I didn't include those tonight. >> A motion to approve as presented. >> Second. Okay, I have a motion by Dr. Payne and a second by Miss Simmon. Any further discussion? >> All in favor, please say I. >> Any opposed? All right, that motion will pass. And that is going to move us to item I1, which is a policy update. Miss Goulsby, >> good evening. Uh, Mrs. Hester couldn't
061be here tonight, so I'm happy to present on her behalf. Uh, [clears throat] good evening, Dr. Hark Rider and board of trustees. I'm here to talk to you about the update 126. These are standard updates that we receive from the Texas Association of School Boards, also known as TASBY. Um, and these are standard from legislative sessions. So, we get these when there are updates at the state. We actually get these from our TASBY representative and these actually don't get adopted um tonight. This is going to be for information only and we're going to go through these. If you have any questions, if there are things that you would like to consider prior to February, um this will go back before you in February to look at those local updates specifically. So when you look at
062some of these policy updates, when you look at legal, it's going to infor be informed by laws, statutes, statutes, um it should inform local decision-m, but it's not adopted like these are already in place based on state law. And then when you look at local policy, which those are the what we were going to highlight tonight, it's informed by legal policy, reflects the practices in the district. Um, and it's changed by the board action. I will say that there were 150 updates with this um policy adjustment. We are going to highlight only the local. So, if there are things that you want more in depth, you do have that that wording and those changes attached to your agenda, but again, please let me know if you want to make note and we'll give you more
063information in February when you will have to take action. The first one um really impact the board when you look at the updates and preparation of agendas. What changed on this one is that instead of 72 hours of posting dead uh the posting deadline, it's three days, three business days. Um 10day deadline for submitting agenda items and active roll call when you're voting. Board member uh board meetings and public participation. It revises the policy to ensure public comment occurs at the beginning of the board meetings. Contracted services. Contractor uh contractors may not engage in or assign instructional activities. So as I move forward I will go over the title allow you to read through the narrative. Please stop me if you have any questions. The next one is going to be technology resources and the
064cyber security updates. >> [snorts] >> One thing to note on the technology resource and the artificial intelligence um there's a new policy providing guidance on the use um of AI in districts and so it's requiring and related to training and implementation. College Station ISD is having preliminary conversations about what that looks like, what stakeholders need to be brought to the table to be able to inform, especially teachers at the campus level, uh community members. We also want to make sure that we have um experts in the field from Texas A&M from across the state. We want to make sure that as we're moving forward, we have all the stakeholders um at the table. We have not set a timeline on that conversation because we want to make sure everyone is there. There's also a critical
065component from the cyber security piece, from the server piece. You know, when you put something in AI, are we is it going to um be risk or a liability? So we have to make sure from the cyber piece do are we equipped to be able to take those next steps facilities and standards with safety and security the facilities construction. There's also updates to the employment requirements and restrictions. Um you will have seen um in the legislative session administrators that contract outside of the district with additional work that goes before the board. So you have seen that in consent agenda prior to but it's just to highlight um that that does go before you. Oh sorry compensation and benefits with leaves and ab absences term contracts um specifically regarding non-renewal personnel management relations meaning um employee
066complaints and grievances. It's got an asterk by that because you will be seeing that um discussed with our DOI conversation in the next agenda item. We're recommending no change to the policy so that we can actually be exempt from that with the DOI. We'll go into depth with that. employee standards of conduct, instructional arrangements, um specifically lesson plans, a new policy addressing instructional plans, course syllabi, uh instructional resources and instructional materials, special ed with regards to video, audio monitoring. I know that C and I have had specific conversations internally about this and being able to plan accordingly. Academic achievement, the grading process reports to teachers, I mean parents, parent rights and responsibilities. This also goes with the adoption of Senate Bill 12. Attendance with regards to release time, wellness and health services, medical treatment, the
067student welfare, crisis intervention, student welfare, student safety, student welfare, child abuse and neglect. And those are updated reporting timelines with that specific one. Again, another thing that you will see when we talk about DOI or student rights and responsibilities, the student parent complaints and grievance process. Um, we we're recommending no change and to retain our current policy and procedure. Um the next one, student discipline, public complaints, community relations, uh with regards to conduct on school premises. And then one specific [snorts] thing that I'd like to point your attention to is going to be DGA. This last bullet, um, this is where a board by March 1st has to be able to, um, [snorts] look at the legal of the state has passed something where you would put in a daily period of prayer. Um, so
068the board will actually see this next month. Um, and it's the board is the action from the board is required by March 1st. So when you look at this, this would require obviously a daily period of prayer, but it also would require teachers and campuses to manage optin and opt out lists for rosters within the classrooms. You know, currently we feel like we have a very fair and equitable system for student rights. So this will be it's Senate Bill 11. You'll see lots of things around the news. stu um school districts are opting out or not taking action. So you will see this specific um bill in front of you. >> There's currently a federal law that protects students and staff members rights to pray, read whatever they would like to read uh during the
069school day as long as it doesn't interfere with the class. Senate Bill 11 is actually more restrictive because parents have to opt in for their child to participate. we would have to designate a prayer time not during the instructional day. Teachers have to monitor students. So if I've got a teacher in a classroom of 25 kids and I have five kids that have opted in and 20 that haven't, the 20 that haven't opted in cannot participate in that classroom. [snorts] And so you can tell the nightmare of us trying to figure out how to make that process works. And in our opinion, we'll send you some more information. Uh this is currently a federal law that protects the rights to do that now. >> It doesn't have to be a designated time and there's not
070an opt-in period. So Senate Bill 11 is actually more restrictive than the current federal law. [snorts] So at this time it is an information item. if you would like to for >> [snorts] >> um give us any considerations, any thought processes as we move forward, u Mrs. Hester or myself will be bringing this to you in February. >> Um thank you for uh basically taking it was I think 86 pages um is the uh policies that we'll be looking at to change um parts of and condensing that for us tonight. We appreciate that. >> Well, it was a team effort. Uh Mrs. Hester, I'm sure you're listening. Uh Mrs. Hester and Mr. Johnson did an outstanding job. Um, and so it's always a team effort, >> but I don't want to gloss over it. Do
071we have any questions that you'd like to ask uh, Miss Goulsby? >> Okay, great. Thank you so much. But I think you're up next too for I1, right? >> Yes, ma'am. >> We're going to move [snorts] on to discussion and possible approval of recommended amendments to the district of innovation plan. So we have um several amendments, three amendments specifically to the district of innovation plan. In 2015, we uh public schools got the ability and the flexibility to be exempt from certain state mandates. Uh there are currently 900 individual uh school districts that have an adopted plan. In 2017, we actually passed a resolution here in this district to become a district of innovation. And then we have a five-year plan from March 8th to [clears throat] of 22 to March 8th of 27. Um we
072will work under the district of innovation plan that you see in front of you. And at any point in time during that time period, administration, DEIC and the board of trustees can consider amendments to our DOI. And that's why we're here tonight. December 10th, DEIC unanimously approved the following amendments for board consideration. The three that we're really going to highlight um as we move forward is going to be your transfer uh student policy, grievance policy, and the depository contract that Mrs. Wilson um actually talked about in workshop. When we look at our student transfer policy, um Texas Education Code authorizes school districts to admit non-residents. Um the biggest part of this provision um it does not and it restricts districts currently um the ability to revoke a mid-year transfer. So we would like to continue
073accepting transfers under this state law. However, we would like the uh option to revoke if the student fails to meet district expectations. And this actually gives us the ability to protect instructional quality, campus safety, and the effective use of district resources. Students who do not meet expectation um obviously will go through um the eligibility part of chronic attendance issues, um disciplinary concerns, and failure to make reasonable academic process progress. [snorts] Currently, our local guidelines, um they're approved each year. Annual applications are required um pursuant to board policy. Again, it may be revoked during the school year based on established criteria. Consistently um uh failing to meet district academic attendance and behavioral expectations. Um obviously those eligility requirements are very important to our district and the integrity of that. So this will give us the option
074to revoke a transfer if they do not meet the following eligibility requirements. Uh maintaining 85% average in all core subjects. Demonstrate strong attendance with a minim minimum of 90% attendance rate. No more than three minor disciplinary referrals and have no major infractions such as DAP. And who who would be what's the process going to be for making that decision? Like who is that at the campus level? Is that central office? Who's who's deciding that that child has not done what they need to do to stay here? What's that look? >> Transfer committee that would make that recommendation. >> And is that a committee that already exists? >> Yes. >> And who is on that? >> Uh Miss Hester, >> Mr. man. Uh, Miss Cooper and Miss Grande, >> principles, the campus would be involved in
075submitting the documentation. [snorts] >> So, Dr. Hark Rider, so the the principal would initiate the paperwork and request to the district level committee for consideration. Is that the process? Thank you. only our only hang on just a second, Sarah. I'm sorry. Uh, one of the things that we'll work with principles on too is consistent communication. If there's becoming an issue with the child, I don't want the parent surprised that all of a sudden, hey, we're revoking the transfer without prior communication to make sure we're communicating with them. And then one get it gets to a point, then they submit the documentation, >> right? Surprises only at Christmas. I get it. Um the um I I just want to make sure that campus administration has um you know a part of that process because they're the
076ones >> campus administrators will drive the whole okay whole situation. >> Thank you. Just as a followup is your expectation that it would be unusual for the committee to overrule a campus administrator who feels like a child needs >> Yeah. The only issue of of that happening would be insufficient evidence, >> right? But generally if they provide the evidence, the committee is just there to check the box and agree >> more with the administrator 100% of the time. >> Okay, great. >> And just one other question at our I guess confirmation. The parents know all this and have to sign up for all this um before you know they would transfer into our >> Yes, ma'am. Of course. Sometimes memories become foggy though, so the reminders will help. >> I like the reminder if as
077um problems start to occur. >> Now, there's no reminder if there was a major infraction of DAP. There's there's nothing to remind about on something serious. >> Yeah, I think the key is established criteria like we're not changing the the yard line or something, but going into it, we know what's expected. So >> the next policy um would be our grievance policy. Senate Bill 12 really provides um some differing um procedures and steps than we are currently under. So um we would like to be able to retain our current grievance policy and procedures and steps um as opposed to what the state um passed under Senate Bill 12. uh we feel like it's more timely for our constit constituents. You know, if parents have frustrations at the campus level, that timeline actually can delay them
078getting resolve or a remedy. It also can delay the fact that when you're collecting evidence at the lowest level, meaning the campus as far as when you look at escalating a grievance, you know, when you're collecting evidence and data, it could become very stale very quickly. um what people remember um if you don't have it on camera. It's also another thing with our systems, security systems. Um you know, we have to consider all of those things. It also Senate Bill 12 allows the board to have a subset of board members hear a level three. Currently, all board members hear level three. Um we have received feedback at level 3es that they appreciate the fact that all board members are involved. um to having a subset that would go against some of the feedback that we
079have received during that level three. So, we feel like the grievance policy that we have in place works very well. Um and it really emphasizes that resolution and accountability from that piece and from that standpoint. I know one of the differences was on the timeline as you mentioned and as you said we want things to be resolved obviously as quickly as possible and at the lowest level uh as as possible. Can you can you confirm when does the clock though start on our grievous grievance um policy or you know the time for a somebody to make a grievance? Is it when the incident occurred or or are they allowed to go through the that you know some resolution error uh efforts at that lowest level and then if that fails >> so typically within 15
080days of what when it occurred >> when it occurred. >> Yes ma'am. And so but we take into consideration any call to central office any call to the campus the principles are phenomenal with trying to resolve and be able to work with parents. um if it does get to a grievance level, you know, there are considerations that we take in. Um we've we've given um our families multiple times when they have missed the deadline. We've had considerations when things come up. We don't want to just say no. We know that these are the timelines and yes, we want to stick to them because those are the policy. Um and we have to be able to have be efficient and follow those procedures, but we always want to be able to hear frustrations. We want to
081hear feedback. We want to be able to resolve things from our families because that's why we're here. So, because we have a grievance policy and for for standard practices, we do follow those guidelines, but there's never an opportunity to not come to the table. There's always an opportunity for people to come to us and find an outlet. We're going to give access to to families and to anyone at central office. We work well with the the campus and they're phenomenal at urgency. you know, when you have a grievance or when you have a frustration or a fear um from our families, um our campuses are phenomenal on making sure that's a sense of urgency. So, I hope I hope that helps. >> It does. I appreciate that because I mean if if good faith effort
082is going on on both parts it on both parties then you know um and that is not resolved and maybe that [snorts] >> takes a 16 17 days we have some um flexibility to be able to still [snorts] hear those grievances. >> Yes ma'am. Typically historically in the last two years we have not seen any within that 16 17 day range. It's usually 30 to 60 or it happened in April and we get it in the summer. Um, that's difficult to be able to exhaust. It doesn't mean we don't look into it. You know, we it does not mean that we don't investigate it. It doesn't mean that we don't contact campuses trying to figure out, hey, talk to me what happened. We collaborate on it. We stay connected to the families as best we
083can. And then you heard from Mrs. Wilson. Um she did a phenomenal job as to why we would want to add this as an amendment to our uh district of innovation. Um it was the depository contracts. It would better align and allow us to be more fiscally responsible for the district. >> Any other questions from the board? >> Just comment or two. First, thank you for the presentation. I think when we had detailed information like this that we're able to process, see the steps exactly what we're asking to be uh taking action on, it helps tremendously. So, thank you for the thorough presentation. >> Uh I voted against two of these three amendments in November and I think I went on record that I was not against the amendments but more a question about the
084process of which they reached the board. Thank you because you noted that in the presentation where DEIC approved these items in December. Uh I just think that that protects the district in case someone challenges these amendments or one of the processes later on. So thank you. >> Yes sir. >> With with those comments I'm more than happy to make a recommendation uh to approve as presented. I want I would like to update the board on a couple of things that we are going to look into. Um you know based on you know pre previous conversations about DEIC um and a couple of things that we kind of looked at when we got into the plans for the alignment. This is not an amendment but this is something that we found when we're digging into our
085DOI and making sure that all the plans are aligned. For example, this next step is to gonna we're going to put this DOI in front of Commissioner Morath. But part of that is really looking at our current language and part of the current language in uh a few of our items we really feel like need to go to DEIC. It doesn't have to be an amendment, but we have to get their feedback on some of the items. So, if you'll focus um on the local guidelines, um this is about planning and preparation time. Each classroom teacher is entitled to at least 450 minutes within each twoe period of instructional preparation. this is about conference time and that prep time. So within our DOI that we adopted, it gives the flexibility in planning and preparation and
086it also um gives us the flexibility um within the instructional planning aotments. [snorts] So when we were digging into finding the procedures that align with this part that really um communicates what this looks like, uh we realize that we don't actually have the procedures in place and we would like to be able to have this conversation with our DEIC because they are the representation of our campuses um because it does talk about uh would allow for innovative scheduling for things such as PLC's. So currently we want to make sure that not only does our DOI align with policy but we also have the procedures in place that that look at that and explain that if that makes sense. >> So we are to be clear we've just talked about three amendments that we're about to
087potentially take action on. You're telling us that this is another part of our DOI that we're going to you guys are going to go to DIC with and it's not an amendment. It would just be getting their feedback. So, the three amendments that I just talked about, those are going to be what you approve to go and update our DOI. But we wanted to be able to give you a level of transparency and a level of communication that as we're going into some of the current existing um caveats that we don't have the procedures that does not have to be approved. It does not compromise what our D do D do D do D do D do D do D do D do D do D do DOI is but it does um we need
088to provide clarity to what those procedures look like. What does it look like and what are those standards and that feedback for flexible planning and prep time because we have gotten feedback about conference times um the concern for conference times. Well, this gives you flexibility to really kind of have an innovative schedule. So these next few is just to be able to be upfront that we do we currently do not have parameters or procedures in place for the sections of this DOI. So it does not impact the amendments tonight. It does not impact our submission to the commissioner. it does impact how we move forward. Gaining insight from DEIC, making sure that they're aware um you know the DEIC plans change. We don't want to make these in isolation. Um and so we want to
089be able to really listen to teachers, our campus, and a collective collaborative as we go through and create the parameters procedures for these. If that makes sense. I'm hearing that there could be some positive conversations coming up beneficial to >> Yeah, absolutely. It's us going back because we're a new administration team. This is something that we found and I I feel like it's important for us to be able to move forward in a collaborative way and model that. >> So, in your opinion, what is that? The DEIC has how many teachers total on it? >> Um, thinking out loud, every campus has a rep plus we have [snorts] um at large. Plus we have at large and we have campus administrators as well. And then we also have uh two community members, two business members
090and two parents. And the only voting members are those folks. None of the district staff are allowed to vote. >> Uh the total committees at 56 if you include all the district staff that are just in the room for we're a resource to the the voting committee members. So I believe off the top of my head the the voting numbers are about 28. >> So 3 to 4% of total teachers something like that. >> Yes. So typically when you look at the DEIC that's the collective that's the immediate planning partners that we have access to. Um you know this is not going to be a robust cumbersome um process. uh when you talk about the level of of expertise that we can get feedback from and I think it's just guidelines, general guidelines that we
091can take. These are not parameters that we want to be able to write and make this um to where it's the actual opposite of what DEI is doing for us, but we'd be remissed if we did not create the procedures that we're currently um committed to. So >> So these are in there. There's just no detail how we're going to do them. >> Yes, ma'am. Okay. And we do I mean DEIC reports out to all of the teachers. Um and I I'm just anecdotally I've had a couple of teachers comment to me over time like oh I saw that in the DEIC you know report. Right. >> Well and part of the responsibility of the committee members is we can send them to gather campus feedback. That's part of the process of having the committee
092because you obviously cannot have a committee of 110 people right. So they they are voted upon by their staff. They have an election and they are on for a three-year terms. And so they are picked to represent them by the teachers themselves. Only the teachers are allowed to vote for their representative. And so however we need to gather feedback is what we do through the committee. >> So Miss Eigy, I just [clears throat] we're taking action on amendments to the DOI. >> Yes. And there's a motion on the table and we are now having conversation about just how we're going to use DEI and and the DEIC. I I I just I'm and I appreciate the explanation. I think we should utilize DEIC and every opportunity we have to get feedback from our stakeholders. But
093but the action item is an amendment to the DOI of which I've made a motion and I I I think we need to address that or not. And if there's some conversation that piggybacks that that that's fine. Uh and I appreciate the the the transparency, but the how this is combined is a little confusing to me. >> We probably got a little bit out of order here because Mr. Martineell did make a motion to um approve the amendments and we should have worked on that first before >> I was wondering if that cuz I could hear Josh B in the back of my head. Was that a motion? As you said, I would love to. I was just trying to >> That was indeed a motion, Dr. Payne. I I I make motion we approve
094the DOI amendments as presented. >> Second. >> All right. We do have a motion by Mr. Martinddale and a second by Dr. Payne. Is there any further discussion on the motion? All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Okay, that motion is going to pass 70 [snorts] and we appreciate your information and transparency. >> Absolutely not. My apologies if I caused a confusion. Um I will defer to the board next time there is a motion made. I appreciate that. >> Um the next update's the same thing. Um when you look at the student teacher ratio language in the current DOI um we've got to develop local policy establishing parameters with regards to student teacher ratio because currently we are exempt um from that mandate and we do not have to um submit
095a waiver uh when you talk about student teacher ratios. So that is something that we need to be able to thoughtfully look forward uh look through and communicate and collaborate with our DEIC and our campuses. >> Can we receive an update at a future meeting about how these conversations went and how exactly they were framed up? >> Absolutely. >> Very good. Thank you. >> Yes, sir. >> Yeah. the the teachers, the amount of time teachers get to plan versus do other have other responsibilities in the day feels like a probably something a lot of teachers care deeply about. And whatever would be the most effective way to get the most stakeholder feedback on that, I think would be prudent of us because that does seem to be a something that comes up very often for
096teachers that I talked to the last few years that that time matters and when it's filled with things that are less valuable to them, that can be a point of frustration pretty quickly. So, if they obviously if they all are game for it, I don't they're the bosses or they they certainly know more about it than me, I should say. But I would love for more teacher feedback on that than less. >> What I'm hearing is our district's going to move forward in working on um how we're going to put those into place. So, >> yes, these decisions will not be made in isolation. >> Okay. >> And then the last one um we need to be able to establish parameters for the class the notice of class size. um a campus or a district
097is granted an exception um and shall provide written notice of an exception. Uh we actually have flexibility in this area and it allows the district to determine the appropriateness of a parent notification as innovative class structures are explored and uh potentially put into place. So, we need to be able to really have some strategic conversations around that as well >> because I know um we've received feedback, you know, just making sure that that's a committed process for us as well. >> All right, appreciate that. >> My last slide is going to be next steps. So, the board is approved. Uh we will submit this to TEA no later than the 15th day of the board adoptions. Um, we will update and maintain district websites for accessibility purposes. We will update legal uh or local policy.
098Uh, we will present the following section to DEEIC for review. We'll create um parameters for the implementation of prep planning time, student teacher ratios, and class size, which are current provisions with inside of our uh district of innovation plan. and we will continue compliance of administrative rules and processes. Is there any other feedback that you'd like to give us as a team prior to other than definitely going to involve teachers in the stakeholder conversation being able to provide the parameters in which that's presented? For sure. Any other feedback from the board? >> I think I just appreciate that you guys are going through things and as you're finding things that we need to work on, that's what we're going to tackle. So, >> absolutely, one step at a time. >> Thank you, Miss Goulsby. >>
099Okay, the next item we're going to move to is item K1. Um, consider approval authorizing final negotiations for the construction manager at risk for the CSISD central office project. Mr. Buckner. >> All right. Good evening. So during the um November workshop, it was determined to um utilize a construction manager at risk or semar process procurement process for the new central office project which also includes the renovation of these two buildings to house um a couple departments that will remain here as well as uh moving over DAP to this location as well. Um so Seymour is a very beneficial project for large-scale construction projects. It helps us with um budgets because we can bring us a construction manager in very early in the uh design process and get feedback during the process with uh multiple uh
100budget meetings and everything else as we go through different percentage milestones so that we know that we are tracking on budget or do we need to start looking at making some um decisions on the design of the building to uh bring it within budget. So far in the projects we've had, we've been very successful with this method and we've had um just about every single one of our projects come in under budget. Um with that being said, after that November meeting, we um released our RFP request for proposals pretty quickly and in December we opened those proposals from various uh contractors. We did have um responses from multiple entities and after that we reviewed those and scored those and tonight that's what we are bringing to y'all tonight is the um recommendation from those as
101the best value uh construction manager at risk for this project as Pogue Construction. If you're remember Pog Construction is currently our construction manager for the CTE phase 2 project. that project has been um very successful to this point and we don't see any reason why it won't remain that way. And that project does have a completion of July of 2026. So with that, this um the team they propose is the same team that we have on the CT project and they will just roll straight from our the location off Dalling Road to the uh location off of Sebesta Road for this project. Um we're looking at kind of a timetable of this one is August of 26 would be a GMP approval um which is a guaranteed maximum price for the project with construction starting
102immediately after that and then um that would be then December of 27 completion of the central office project and then as soon as that project is complete and departments are moved into the new location renovation would start here for the school year starting in August of 28. So it'll be a quick project. Um but this would authorize um Dr. Hark Rider to negotiate the contract with the uh Seymour with the construction manager at risk of of Pog Construction. >> Motion to approve is presented. >> Second. Okay. I have a motion by Dr. Payne and a second by Miss Simmon. Do we have any further discussion? Yeah, I'm not super familiar with the timeline. So, just to be clear, we're approving negotiations, but we're not actually approving the construction. There's still time to back out at
103some point. Is that correct? >> Correct. This is approving the PO construction as the contractor for this project. We will not have a price on this project until August of 2026. And by August of 2026, we feel confident that we'll know things like expected annual operating budget, >> etc., etc. Great. >> Yes. Right now, we just know we have a estimate on what the square footage is going to be for this. Um, we have a layout of the building, a very just we're in the schematic design phase still, so we know the layout of the building. We have spent probably 45 minutes discussing the um how we're going to run the HVAC in that building. We don't know those systems yet. We we're still like very early in this process which is why it's beneficial
104for Simr having for this process having um Pogan early so we get them at the very beginning stages versus and get the full benefit of this. But there is um part of their proposal is a pre-construction fee and that if we do choose to back out during this, we just pay the pre-construction fee that they proposed. >> Great. That feels like it'll be valuable. Do we know what the approximate value of the real estate is of that land that we would be taking offline? >> It's my understanding is it's been offline for quite a few years since we purchased it. >> Yeah. Yeah. Sorry. I mean, it still has value regardless of like >> that would have to be >> value if we were to sell it >> factored. Yeah. Or you had to buy
105equivalent land in the future for another project, something like that. >> It's we can get it later. I'm just curious if anybody happens to know what that >> I know the bond is 30 30-ish million. Is that right? Is the 31 million something like that. >> That's the uh >> I want to make sure we're adding in the land value because that's obviously the total cost of the project. 5 million marked in the original uh proposition to purchase land. >> We would not have to. >> Got it. Thank you. You know, I brought up some concerns when we um first talked about this in November, and I also asked for some additional information, and I appreciate getting some of that. Kind of along the same lines, I think, there of um when do we have
106to commit our $31 million of our bond money? And it and my concern is still the same. It's not really that bond money because yes, we we had it in um the bond committee and it went out to our voters for approval. But that was over, you know, that was three years ago and I think at that point we were looking at a nice steady growth in enrollment. We were look and um and that has not happened and I'm concerned more with the maintenance and operating costs going forward. So, so part of my question was to be able to estimate that a lot better. Some of it being, you know, the utilities and such on a 66,000 square foot building, but then also some of the needed personnel. And I again appreciate Mr. Syc, but
107that some of this together um because our in those same three years, our enrollment numbers have dropped over 400 students. and tell us exactly how much money that is. But that's part of where our our budget constraints right now. It's over well over $4 million of less money that we have in our operating budget for those for those students and to add to our annual operating expenses for something that I'm not arguing it's not necessarily needed but um it's not classrooms it's not directly there with the students I I am struggling with moving forward spending that money and in I even I had an example that I saw just by chance yesterday that of a of a district north of Austin who was built two schools from a bond at the same time period. They
108are under construction planned to be opened in August of 2026. And they're asking their board, do we open none of those or maybe one of them because of the operating cost associated. So, that's my um concern at this point and really understanding when we have to commit that money and how much it's going to cost moving forward. >> I do um I've spent a lot of time thinking about this because um I do think that it's important to look at the financial well-being of the district. That's one of the things that we as trustees um should be um oversight on. I [clears throat] I also had a chance to be a part of the bond committees in both 21 and 23 before I was on this board. Um in 21 it was a smaller bond
109package and the committee pressed back. There was some uh request for money to renovate this building here and um the committee said no it's not time for that yet. We're putting together a smaller package um and this needs to be all on students. um 23 we came back together and the district was much more in a place where they wanted to put together a comprehensive package that was going to take care of the needs of this district for a long time and I don't remember hearing anyone around me in that committee pressing back on the idea of finally taking care of the administrative staff um and this building at that time. Um, so I struggle a little bit with the idea of we're going to do all the projects that we um said we were
110going to do in that bond package except for this one. Um, I I understand the concern about operating costs, but we're not talking about the operating cost of like a school, which is a whole lot different because of all the staff that you have to have. Um, I've been asking some questions about just in general what that might look like um, from an operating cost perspective, and I know we can't give any exact numbers because we're not there yet. So, um, I just have to voice, uh, my strong feeling that we looked at three years ago what the needs of our district were going to be. Um, we toured this building. We saw what the staff here is is doing to make this work. Um, and I and we may be down some students, but
111our support staff here um, still has a need of being able to have the space that they need, getting DAP out of College View, High School. There's a whole lot of benefits to the district. um conference space. I mean, we could go on and on because I've asked a lot of questions about this. So, I know that's not really the whole discussion we're going to have here tonight, but um I just need to speak out and say that I feel that the flip side of it is that we went out to the community and said this is this is what we want to do to set our district up for years in the future. Um and I would have a little bit of an issue with us than saying, "Okay, we're just going to not
112do this one piece of it unless there's a really compelling reason to do that." And I I'm the same. I was on the 23 bond committee and and I get the money component because I do think we're supposed to be good stewards of the taxpayer dollar, but I think it'd be shortsighted for us to say just just because our enrollment's down that there's the need doesn't outweigh what we need to do here because I would argue that this building does help help have better outcomes for our students. It provides meeting space, space to collaborate. Um yeah, it is going to be offices, but I do think reconfiguring this building too to serve Head Start better. um DAP. I I just I get it, but I also would feel really bad having gone out and campaigned
113for the bond and then we don't deliver on what we've asked the voters who've already approved um this building. But the money the money component component is a big part of it, but I I still feel like this need is here and it's not going to go away just because we have our enrollment has gone down. In 2023 when we were talking about the bond, did I I wasn't around that this these conversations. Did we expect to be at a deficit budget two years later? Cuz my the last three months it seems like we've been surprised we're at a deficit budget. >> I I I believe we were at a deficit budget at the time. >> I think we're in a deficit budget most every year that we pass it. >> Careful. But >> and
114then it doesn't always work out that way. >> Yeah. I guess the other I think the the the challenge that I'm trying to balance in my own head is we're innovating to bring in new students into the district at the charge of we need money and then potentially turning around and spending operational money. >> These are totally different funds. >> They're not. >> Bond money is totally different. >> Builds a building, >> right? doesn't pay the bills once you've opened the building unless it's going to be empty. >> But the bond was passed for the facility. >> Totally totally agree. >> Use that for on >> 100%. But once we're questioning the operating cost moving forward after it's built, >> once the building is built, >> utilities and potential personnel. >> Yeah. But we're we
115also have maintenance of this facility as well. Constant upkeep. >> And we would still have maintenance of this facility because it would still be here, right? My issue is we're we literally two months ago are finding innovative ways to bring in new revenue potentially at the cost of our current 14,000 students which we don't know and then adding unknown operational costs just feels like something we should at least be mindful of. It certainly doesn't negate that the bond was passed, but sunk fallacy cost is a real thing. And if it doesn't now make sense for our district to build a a new building because those dollars could be used somewhere else, like on the teacher salaries that are still 10% behind um state average from the last taper report, then I think it's at least
116worth a discussion. I think the biggest concern I have to be honest is the more time we put into I guess I just want to go on the record to say the more time we put into these guys working super hard with the architects at it seems like there's a risk that we get to August and then it's like well we better do this because we've already made a big investment in all of the time put into it and so I just want to go on record I guess to say like I don't want to be rushed in August to make a decision based on data that we've collected for four months when we're saying now that it would be helpful to have that data before we make that final decision. So that's the stake
117in the ground that I would like to put at least I don't feel like we know enough to make that decision. >> Me personally, >> there's also another thing I want to mention. Right now we're paying for meeting spaces places for people to meet and you talk about wanting to keep people happy and not losing staff. When you have staff officing and closets and doubled up, tripled up in offices. There's a component to that too of keeping these guys that are running the district behind the scenes happy. Um, and I guess they just said that I get where you don't want to be surprised with with data in August, but they said as soon as they have the information, they'll get it to us and we'll have plenty of time to review it before. >>
118I also think to the trainings that we have here, most of the teachers and admin, there's not enough parking. I mean, there's a lot of issues. It's not just >> this building is not servicing a district of our size anymore. >> And for many, many years we've made do with central office having less with the bonds, with spacing. I mean, it's been ongoing where central office gets updated, impacted least, and last. >> And I think all that's true. And I I there's that part of me. I know the folks who work hard in this building deserve, you know, a better some better facilities. Um, but I also know we're making a lot of sacrifices in other places with our w with our in our teachers and classrooms and campuses. And the other thing is we
119have capacity in some of those elementary schools. We know that when we looked at um the resoning, we could put a conference room or a training room at an elementary room at an elementary and repurpose some space there if we really needed to be creative. you know, um, when we are when we're talking about the reason we are able to survive a few more years with deficit budgets is because we had to change our fiscal year to try, you know, to try to get more in our fund balance. We really have to be creative, I think. And we even sat down, one of our budget priorities is to, you know, focus on academic quality first and also make informed um, difficult decisions if needed. And that that's where I'm >> just to clarify, we did
120not change the budget year to get more money in fund balance. >> That was not the goal. It was a that's like an accounting flip-flop. The the goal of it was to align July 1st with how we run the school district and budgeting and and being able to have supplies and everything ready to go when kids got to school. >> Well, we got a September meeting. was a very um it was a added benefit to be able to have that additional money in our fund balance. >> So what I'm hearing I think is that we um if we move forward with this um we will be able to get some additional information as time goes on um before August we'll be able to get some of these numbers and data that we're we're asking for
121>> getting Paul going in this process now helps us get to that place sooner but I will tell you uh Mr. Phil you asked a question about the market value of that land looking at Braz calls it 1.8 8 million for that piece of property off of Best the Road. I knew you had this question, Miss McAdams, so I worked with Miss Wilson and we were crunching some numbers over the weekend and looking at some things yesterday. Uh we're looking at $65,000 ft with this new uh potentially this new central office building. Uh the closest thing that we have in comparison to that would be College View is 55,000 ft. Uh and we budget about $65,000 for utilities and gas bills throughout. Now, that's an 11-year-old building. This one's obviously going to have different energy
122code. This one's not going to have a kitchen with as much gas being used cuz we're not going to be cooking on the daily for lunches and things of that nature. Um, so ballpark that what you will, but if you were just looking for a number right now, um, but $55,000 it cost you $65,000 a year is what we budget for that for utilities and gas. And when we get uh the numbers in for the building, we would bring uh the numbers to you guys in a workshop a month prior to us asking you guys to take action. That way you've seen the numbers, ask any questions. We got 30 days to accumulate any more information that you may need. >> You said August is when you would anticipate a GMP for this project. >>
123Yes, sir. >> Okay. So, so tonight we're simply considering construction manager at risk so they can be a part of the planning process. We're not approving a budget or approval of construction, simply the planning process, which is it is smart to have them in on the front end. It will help you manage the budget and see things in design that will help control the budget. [snorts] I think over that time till August, I hear people asking for data on projected cost and everything else. So I think if administration is diligent in providing board with data along the way then hopefully come August that folks will feel like they have the information needed to make a decision one way or the other on whatever GMP is is proposed at that time. So we're we're we're debating
124two different things at this point in time. All we're doing tonight is considering the construction manager at risk and just make sure that the information that board members request associated with this project is when you have firm data to get it to us, please. And I know Melissa BLK will play a huge role in some of those projected information. Is Melissa here? >> She is. >> Hi. How are you doing? Uh so if as long as we get that information along the way then then hopefully it will help with decision making uh in August until we have that we're we're debating. We're we don't >> it's already >> we don't know what we're debating. >> It's already been instructed to the uh MEP engineers as well as that we're needing this information. I am hopeful
125probably around late May, June, we should be able to start getting into that with with where we are for projected utility costs and then also working with utility on what they're looking at for future rates as well. So, but no, we will get that information to you as soon as it's available to us. >> I appreciate that. I appreciate that that comment, um, Mr. Martell because part of my question too was that it was on the timeline and when are we committing you know how much money along the way and when can we make a decision to decide it's not worth it's not the right time for this for this building and investing that extra um operating cost. So >> I would say we have until we bring the GMP to the board for approval.
126That's we have >> we're spending a little money by doing this because we're asking them to do some work but >> there would be >> yeah small compared to the whole project. >> Yes. >> So considering that on the table we have a motion by Dr. Payne and a second by Miss Simmon. All in favor please say I. >> Any opposed? That motion passes 70. >> Thank you uh Mr. Buckner and Mr. Syc. Uh that's going to move us to item L1, executive session. The board will meet in executive session to discuss superintendent midyear review that exe executive session deliberations will be held pursuant to personnel matters closed meeting exception to the Texas Open Meetings Act. [music] All right, we are um back from executive session at 9:55 and we're going to adjourn.